Chicken and Dumplings

Victor decided to try his hand at a dish fairly foreign to his Italian heritage - Chicken and Dumplings.

This is something I remember well from my own childhood. My mom made drop dumplings all the time - and my grandmother made rolled dumplings that were like big, thick, pasta noodles. I can taste both of them right now...

But fast-forward 55 or so years, and here is Victor making his first attempt - and hopefully not his last. These were delicious!

I had cooked a whole chicken a couple of days ago, so the basics - broth and chicken - were in the 'fridge. It was the art of pulling it all together and making light as air dumplings that made it so extraordinary.

He did a lookup of ideas and found a Martha recipe that was promising. He adapted it to what he had already, but here's the Martha concept. Play with it.

Chicken and Dumplings

adapted from Martha Stewart

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 5 medium carrots, cut crosswise into 1 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • S&P
  • 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill, or 3/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
  • 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 cup cream
  • 2 cups frozen peas

In a Dutch oven or heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat butter over medium. Add onion, carrots, and thyme. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup flour and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add broth and bring to a boil, stirring constantly; season with salt and pepper. Nestle chicken in pot; reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make dumplings: In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup flour, dill, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. With a fork, gradually stir in 1/2 cup milk to form a moist and soft batter. It should be just a little thicker than pancake batter and should easily drop from the tip of a spoon. (Add additional 2 tablespoons milk if too thick.) Set aside.

Stir peas into pot. Drop batter in simmering liquid in 10 heaping tablespoonfuls, keeping them spaced apart (dumplings will swell as they cook). Cover, and simmer until chicken is tender and dumplings are firm, 20 minutes. Serve.

It was really, really good - even Nonna cleaned her plate - except for the peas. The dumplings really were light as feathers. Little clouds floating in a silken sauce. Outstanding!

It's a really great, comforting meal. Give it a try!


Sweet Potato Pancakes

Home. Back to reality. The upside of living here is the proximity to New York City. The downside is the proximity to New York City.

Back in my wild and crazy youth, we'd catch a flight from Boston on the Eastern Shuttle, bus to the Port Authority Bus Terminal, and then risk our lives walking to the Grand Hyatt for our free rooms. That was back when Times Square really had an edge to it - not the Disney Ride it is, today. Third-run movie theaters and porn theaters competed with the legit theatres - and the legit theatres were showing their age. We'd be up and out all night and crawl back on the plane a day or two later - ready to do it all, again.

Lest it be said that I was always galavanting in bad company, in 1983 my parents came back to Boston and we did a trek to The Big Apple. They were doing a driving tour of the USofA and arrived right around their anniversary. After a few days in Boston, we drove down to NYC and I took the train back while they continued their trip. We got a suite at some hotel courtesy of my roommate, Jeff, who was Regional Sales Director for Seagrams, and scored tickets to 42nd Street at The Majestic Theatre. After several cocktails during and after the show, Pop and I put my mother to bed and we went out on the town. Rumor has it we had a great time. Couldn't prove it by either of us. It really was one of the most fun times I ever had with my father - not that I can really remember any of it. Just that we both had a blast.

That trip ended with a week-long hangover - that train ride back to Boston was painful. This trip ended with coffee and danish at 7:30am, an early train back home, and grocery shopping.

My, how times have changed.

I wouldn't trade those [lack of] memories for anything - but I am glad I've settled down, a bit. The warranty has expired on a lot of these parts...

What hasn't expired, though, is magazine reading, grocery shopping, and cooking.

I prefer paper copies of my cooking magazines, but also get the digital editions for those times when I'm sitting in a train or otherwise ensconced with my Kindle. One recipe from Fine Cooking or Cooking Light was a dish of shredded chicken over sweet potato pancakes. I don't remember the recipe, really, but the idea sounded pretty good. I like stuff piled on other stuff - this was right up my alley.

I made sweet potato pancakes by boiling a large sweet potato, mashing it, adding shredded cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, basil, garlic, and an egg to bind. I scooped it into a hot skillet nd fried them.

Meanwhile, I had boiled a chicken, pulled off all the meat, strained the broth...

I sauteed a chopped leek with shitake mushrooms and garlic, added some cauliflower and some white wine and cooked it down. Added some of the chicken, some broth, and thickened it with a bit of cornstarch.

Spooned it over the pancakes and dinner was served!

Really simple and really, really good!

And to bring it all back... In May, my sister Arlene and her two daughters are flying into New York. We're going up to meet them and take them to see Phantom of the Opera - at The Majestic, where I saw 42nd Street with my parents 34 years ago!

Fun!

 

 


Breakfast for Dinner

Every now and again we get the urge to have the traditional breakfast foods for dinner. Breakfast is by far, one of my most favorite meals. The other two - lunch and dinner - are my other favorites. I also have a penchant for snacks. And dessert is my favorite non-meal meal. One might say that my real favorite meal is the one I'm eating at the moment. Some people eat to live - I live to eat.

I could easily picture myself at one of those renaissance banquets that went on for days and days... Gluttony and debauchery. How fun can you get?!?

Actually... I think we've thrown a couple of those... Some of those Tahoe parties were pretty wild - and they usually required huge breakfasts the following day for the bodies strewn about the house. Notice I said day and not morning. The parties ended in the wee hours of the morning. Breakfast was served late. We had a standard dish we made the night before we called "Tahoe Brunch" that seemed to take the edge off... especially if served with lots of bloody marys.

Some of those parties really were legendary - like the time 20 friends came up for a skiing weekend. Bodies everywhere. Or my 26th birthday party - we were celebrating three birthdays - with a live band and more drugs than a Mexican Cartel. Wall-to-wall-to-wall people inside and out. I really only have vague snapshot recollections of that one. And no idea how or when it ended - although I am sure I was up and at 'em to the very end. Sweet youth.

That glass is the last remaining bit of memorabilia from my almost 5 years living at Lake Tahoe. Like me, it has seen better days. And also like me, it is full of stories.

Which segues right into tonight's feast...

Ever wonder why Bacon and Eggs is the quintessential American Breakfast? Wonder, no more! Prior to 1920, the typical American breakfast was much lighter - fruit, hot cereal, and coffee was pretty much the mainstay. A certain Mr. Edward Bernays changed all that.

Bernays was hired by the Beech-Nut Packaging Company - of Beech Nut gum fame - to sell more of their bacon. Back in the day they were producers of peanut butter, jam, pork and beans, ketchup, chili sauce, mustard, spaghetti, macaroni, marmalade, caramel, fruit drops, mints, chewing gum, and coffee. Now they're a baby food company.

But I digress...

It seems that sometime in the 1920s, wanting to increase his client's bacon sales, Bernays spoke with the internal doctor working for Beech-Nut and asked him if eating a heavier breakfast would be good for Americans. Being a company man, he said yes - and he then wrote to 5000 of his fellow doctors asking them to endorse the idea. The story was published in all of the media of the time - newspapers and magazines galore - and the American Public bought it. Sales of Beech-Nut bacon soared, and a tradition was built. Bacon and Eggs as a breakfast meal was brought to you by advertising - and a Doctor's study that wasn't a study - and foisted upon a gullible populace.

Can you imagine people today falling for such a stunt?

So here we are with our bacon and eggs. And sausage. And potatoes. And rye toast. And freshly-squeezed blood orange juice. The eggs were perfectly runny, the bacon crisp, and the toast perfect for dunking.

Not a bad way to end the culinary day...

Well... except for the homemade fudge we'll have later. Small pieces. Wouldn't want to be a glutton.

 

 


Sunday Bread-Baking

I have had two metal bread pans for as long as I can remember. I really don't know where or when I got them. They have just always been there.

It's funny. There are some things that I can tell you practically date and time where I got something - the round cake pans were all bought when I did Mike & Debbie's wedding cake in 1985. I borrowed Debbie's Kitchenaid mixer to make it and bought my own a few months later. We got our canisters at Macy's Herald Square in 2001 shortly after moving here - carried them home on the train. My desk came from Ikea in Emeryville, CA in 1998 when we bought our house in San Leandro. Victor's mirror image desk was bought at Ikea in Plymouth Meeting in March of 2001 when we moved here. He was on a business trip and I was unemployed and remodeling, decorating, and, generally, just spending money on the new house.

Like our Christmas ornaments, there's a story behind just about everything we have. The pictures on the wall, the salt and pepper shakers from all over the world. The arm bands from the San Francisco Gay Pride Parade in 1995 when we were the honor guards for Ninia Baehr and Genora Dancel  - the two women who were the first to win gay marriage rights in Hawai'i. And the wine rack/booze cabinet in the kitchen that was made by a childhood friend,  Mike Monestere, not long after he got out of prison. We're surrounded by stories.

The glass Cat That Swallowed The Canary was a birthday gift from Alice Dean LaCroix in 1969.

Alice was a little old lady who I met at Pirro's way back in the day. She came in several nights a week for her half-order of spaghetti and a tablespoon of sauce. She was a very interesting woman. She was originally from Tarrytown, New York, drove a 1957 black VW Beetle, wrote Black poetry - she was very white but believed she had been African in a former life - and through her I was able to meet Maya Angelou and Gerri Lange. We went out to breakfast at least once a month and as a Christmas present to her in 1970, I took her to the Palace Hotel Champagne Brunch at the ungodly of price of $25.00 per person and supported her when she was part of a marathon poetry reading at City Lights - her reading time was 3am.

She bought me the little blown glass piece because she said it reminded her of me - I always looked like the cat who had swallowed the canary! Basically, guilty but no one could prove it. Almost 48 years later, things haven't changed much, have they... Who, me?!?

Her daughter and I threw her a surprise 75th birthday party - in 1975 - and she cried like a baby. In 75 years, no one had ever thrown her a surprise party. She was the Belle of the Ball and had the time of her life. When not writing Black Poetry, Alice was a Graphoanalyst doing handwriting analysis. By the time we met she was pretty much retired but was still being called up regularly to be an expert witness for one crime or another. Interesting, indeed.

From bread pans to birthday parties... my, how the mind wanders down that rabbit hole...

And we're back to bread...

It came about because we were watching an episode of Martha Stewart where she has the culinary students on the show. She is just so pretentious it's fun to watch, but every once in a while she has a recipe that really sounds like fun. This one was a bread dough that can be made three different ways - and you know me and bread! I immediately printed out the recipes.

What really caught my eye during the show was the cinnamon raisin bread. 2 loaves from the batch of dough. I thought I would make 1 loaf of the regular and 1 loaf cinnamon raisin. What I didn't realize until I was starting to form the loaves is the basic recipe is for one large loaf of white bread and the cinnamon variation is for two loaves - so I got a loaf of raisin bread and a small loaf of white bread instead of the monster loaf she showed on TV. In the grand scheme of things, that was not a bad thing.

Here are the two recipes:

Japanese-Style White Bread

From Martha Stewart

  • 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for work surface
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees)
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for bowls, pans, and brushing
  • Nonstick cooking spray
  1. Place warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle over yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and whisk to combine. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes.
  2. Whisk together 3 1/4 cups flour, salt, and remaining tablespoon sugar in bowl of a standing mixer. Attach dough hook, and mix on low speed adding yeast mixture, milk, and egg. Increase speed to medium and mix until dough comes together, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. If dough does not come together, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, up to 1/4 cup.
  3. Continue kneading for 10 minutes. Add butter and mix until incorporated and dough is smooth, 5 to 8 minutes. (Dough may come apart before coming back together.)
  4. Meanwhile, butter a large bowl. Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape it into a ball. Transfer dough to the prepared bowl, turning dough to coat. Cover lightly with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 45 to 60 minutes.
  5. Place dough, top-side down, on lightly floured work surface to deflate. Shape dough into a ball and return to the buttered bowl. Cover lightly with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 45 to 60 minutes.
  6. Butter a 4 1/2-inch-by-8 1/2-inch loaf pan. Place dough, top-side down, on lightly floured work surface to deflate. Pat dough into a 7-inch square using your hands. Fold bottom edge two thirds of the way up, and fold again so that the top edge meets the bottom edge as you would a business letter. Pat dough a second time into a 7-inch square. Roll dough to form a tight log and pinch to seal. Pat the ends just enough to fit into the pan, and place the dough seam side down into the prepared pan.
  7. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. Let stand in a warm place until dough has risen about 3 inches beyond the top of the pan and leaves an indentation when gently pressed with a fingertip, 60 to 75 minutes.
  8. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (or 400 degrees for a convection oven) with rack set in the center.
  9. Remove plastic wrap, and spritz surface of dough lightly with water. Transfer to oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees (or 350 degrees for a convection oven) and continue to bake until deep golden-brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 190 degrees when inserted into the center of the loaf, about 25 minutes more. If browning too quickly, tent lightly with foil.
  10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly; turn out loaf. Brush top with butter to coat and let cool almost completely before slicing.

 

Cinnamon-Raisin Swirl Bread

FOR THE DOUGH

  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup orange juice
  • 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 cups bread flour, plus more for work surface
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
  • 1 cup warm milk (110 degrees)
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for bowls, pans, and brushing
  • Nonstick cooking spray

FOR THE FILLING

  • 1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  1. Prepare the dough: Combine raisins and orange juice in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Drain raisins and place on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess moisture. Alternatively, combine raisins and orange juice in a small bowl and microwave for 20 seconds; let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  2. Place cup warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle over yeast and 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar and whisk to combine. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes
  3. Whisk together 3 1/4 cups flour, salt, and remaining tablespoon sugar in the bowl of a standing mixer. Attach dough hook, and mix on low speed, adding yeast mixture, milk, and egg. Increase to medium speed and mix until dough comes together, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. If dough does not come together, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time and up to 1/4 cup.
  4. Continue kneading for 10 minutes. Add butter and mix until incorporated and dough is smooth, 5 to 8 minutes. (Dough may come apart before coming back together.) Add reserved raisins and knead to combine.
  5. Meanwhile, butter a large bowl. Turn dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a ball. Transfer dough to the prepared bowl, turning to coat. Cover lightly with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 45 to 60 minutes.
  6. Place dough, topside down, on lightly floured work surface to deflate. Shape dough into a ball and return to the buttered bowl. Cover lightly with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray, and let stand in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 45 to 60 minutes.
  7. Butter two 4 1/2-inch-by 8 1/2-inch loaf pans. Prepare the filling: Combine brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and stir to form a smooth paste. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.
  8. Place dough, top side down, on lightly floured work surface to deflate. Pat dough into a 7-inch square using your palms and fingertips. Fold bottom edge two-thirds of the way up, and fold again so that the top edge meets the bottom edge as you would a business letter. Cut the dough in half crosswise with a bench scraper.
  9. On a lightly floured surface, roll half of the dough out into a 7-inch-by-13-inch rectangle. Spread dough evenly with half of the filling using an offset spatula. Roll dough to form a tight log and pinch to seal. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough in half lengthwise. Place one piece of dough, cut side up, on top of the other to form an "X." Working from the "X", twist dough together, pinching ends and tucking under dough to form a loaf. Transfer dough, cut side-up, to prepared pan. Repeat process with the remaining dough and filling. Alternatively, the loaves may be shaped by rolling to form a tight log before pinching ends, and tucking under.
  10. Cover each loaf with plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray. Let stand in a warm place until dough has risen 1 to 2 inches above edge of pan and an indentation forms when gently pressed with a fingertip, 45 to 60 minutes.
  11. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (or 400 degrees for a convection oven) with rack set in the center.
  12. Remove plastic wrap and transfer pans to oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees (or 350 degrees for a convection oven) and continue to bake until deep golden-brown and they reach 190 degrees on an instant-read thermometer when inserted into the center of a loaf, about 20 minutes more. If browning too quickly, tent lightly with foil.
  13. Transfer to a wire rack to cool slightly; turn out loaf. Brush top with melted butter and let cool almost completely before slicing.

The cinnamon loaf smells absolutely fantastic. It's for breakfast in the morning - toasted and slathered in butter.

 


South of the Wall-Style Chicken

Tonight's recipe was brought to you by I'm really tired of the same old chicken. There are a bazillion things to do with chicken and I keep doing the same things over-and-over. And over.

Can you say rut, boys and girls?!?

Once upon a time, I would just make dinner. Ya know... head into the kitchen and just put something together. Usually pretty good, and usually never to be replicated because it was made with whatever I happened to see and fancy at that moment in time.

And that's how tonight's dinner came to be.

I had a vision of stuffed chicken breasts for dinner, tonight. Mexican-style, although I had no idea what I wanted to do. I just wanted those comforting spices. And then I took out thin-sliced chicken from the freezer. Thin-sliced chicken breasts are just not conducive to cutting open, making pockets, and adding a filling. They do, however, fit into individual baking dishes and accept a filling on top.

When I finally realized my chicken breasts were thin-sliced, I grabbed a couple of ceramic bowls and went to work.

I oiled them and coated them with bread crumbs, and then fitted the chicken into them. In a skillet, I sauteed onion, bell pepper, garlic, and mushrooms. I added cumin and ancho chili powder and cooked it off a bit, and then added a can of drained black beans and about 4 ounces of crumbled queso fresco. All of that went into the chicken breasts and they went into a 375°F  (190°C) oven for about 35 minutes.  The rice was just yellow rice - basic white rice cooked in chicken broth with some annatto and coriander.

The chicken breasts lifted right out of the containers - and they were huge. I could have easily split one for the two of us - but that wouldn't have made a pretty picture - and it's all about the picture.

So... we both ate half and the rest went into the 'fridge for lunches.

Tomorrow we're back to normal around here. The snow has stopped and I'll be off to work in the early morning. We'll have to see if we can continue the rut-breaking for another day...

In the meantime, there's lots of Peach Rice Pudding in the 'fridge...

 


Corned Beef Hash

It looks as if the Blizzard of '17 is coming to an end. We didn't get the two feet forecasted but we got a hellava lot of ice and sleet. And cold, cold wind. It's still blowing like crazy, but the worst of it seems to have passed.

I guess at some point I'll have to get out there and start clearing the drive. I'm in no hurry, though. I've reached prime heart-attack-while-shovelling-snow-age. I shall take my time.

In the meantime, a boy must eat. With enough provisions set to keep us going until the next blizzard, I thought corned beef hash with a basted egg would be a nice spin on things. I bought a pre-cooked corned beef a few days ago thinking I might make Reubens or maybe a Corned Beef Special for Victor, but hash called my name, today. There's still enough to do sandwiches. Maybe.

The hash was as basic as basic can be. Cubed potatoes, cubed corned beef, onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Fried. When it was 99% done, I cracked a couple of eggs on top and covered the pan for the eggs to baste.

It was the perfect luncheon on a cold, wet, snowy day, and the perfect fuel needed to go out and tackle the drive.

For dinner, we're going south of the wall. Not sure exactly what, but it will have a Mexican flair!

Stay tuned...

 

 


Preparing for a Blizzard

The weather forecasting for tonight and tomorrow has run the gamut - from a huge storm to no big deal to a big storm to ::drum roll, please:: a blizzard. Yes, a blizzard. Middle of March, anywhere from 12" to 2 feet of snow, falling 3" to 4" per hour for several hours... sleet... gale-force winds... white-out conditions... the whole shebang. While I haven't officially called out from work for tomorrow, odds are I will be homebound. A blizzard.

Naturally, one needs to properly prepare for these things. Today, Victor made Gnocchi. I baked Bread and made Peach Rice Pudding. I mean... in the worst of times one must maintain a sense of decorum, right?!? What would the neighbors think if we were forced to eat boxed macaroni and cheese?!? [note to neighbors: we don't have any boxed macaroni and cheese in the house...]

But I digress... Read down for the recipes.

I did my Monday grocery shopping early to avoid the panic-buying throngs, but the shelves at the local Acme were already looking a bit bare at 9am. There were a few folks in the store with huge overflowing carts of food. I figure the worst case scenario of 2 feet of snow would mean - maybe - 36 hours in the house from the start of the storm until the end and roads were cleared enough to venture out. Five meals. Some of these folks were buying for the apocalypse.

Five meals. At any given moment we have food in the house for a week. The only reason I went shopping at all was to get strudel bites and mini corn muffins for Nonna. They are her morning ritual. I really could have just made them, but I also wanted to get gas for the car in case we lost power and needed a charging station for electronics. I need to be able to read my Kindle... And if we did lose power and the temperature in the house dropped, I guess we could park Nonna in a warm car for a while... On the other hand, I did buy a big box of Duraflame logs as insurance against the power going out...

But back to food.

Victor started things off with gnocchi. He pretty much just created the recipe as he went - potato, flour, ricotta, and egg.

Potato and Ricotta Gnocchi

  • 2 cups riced potato
  • 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups "00" flour, plus more for dusting

Combine the potato, ricotta, eggs and 1 teaspoon salt in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add the flour, mixing well.

Bring the dough together in a ball and cut off one-quarter of it. Dust the work surface with all-purpose flour to prevent sticking, and roll the cut-off piece of dough into a long rope about 5/8 inch in diameter. Cut the rope into 5/8-inch pieces. Roll the pieces off the times of a fork or off a gnocchi board. Dust some parchment paper with flour and place the gnocchi on it to prevent sticking. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Cook the gnocchi in boiling water for about 2 minutes.

Drain and serve with your favorite sauce.

We had them with homemade meatballs and Victor's homemade sauce. Totally awesome, Delish.

That was half of the batch on the tray. I froze another tray for another day.


The bread was a loaf of James Beard's French-Style Bread. It's one of the most simple, basic breads around. been making it for years. Always good.

James Beard’s French-Style Bread

Ingredients

  • 1 package active dry yeast
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 cup warm water (100° to 115°, approximately)
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 egg, mixed with water
  • sesame seeds
  • 3 tbsp cornmeal

Directions

Combine the yeast with sugar and warm water in a large bowl and allow to proof. Mix the salt with the flour and add to the yeast mixture, a cup at a time, until you have a stiff dough. Remove to a lightly floured board and knead until no longer sticky, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary. Place in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the surface with butter. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1½ to 2 hours.

Punch down the dough. Turn out on a floured board and shape into a long, French bread-style loaf. Place on a baking sheet that has been sprinkled with the cornmeal but not buttered. Brush loaf with egg wash and then liberally sprinkle with sesame seeds. Slash the tops of the loaf diagonally in three or four places. Place in a cold oven, set the temperature at 400° and bake 35 minutes or until well browned and hollow sounding when the top is rapped.


And then we have dessert... Peach Rice Pudding.

I picked up a bag of frozen peaches at the store, thinking I might make a peach upside down cake.  I got home and thought Peach Pudding. I mentioned it to Victor and then said, or maybe rice peach pudding - and that was that.

Peach Rice Pudding

  • 1 cup rice
  • 4 cups milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/4 cup cornstarch
  • pinch salt
  • 4 tbsp butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tsp peach extract
  • 1 lb peaches, chopped

Cook rice and set aside.

Mix sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a saucepan. Add eggs and mix. Slowly add milk and mix well, making sure there are no lumps. Cook over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in cooked rice. Continue stirring and cook about 5 minutes or until thickened.

Stir in peaches, and then add vanilla, peach extract, and butter.

Place in bowl with plastic wrap on top to keep skin form forming.

Refrigerate completely.

We have enough rice pudding to last a week, plenty of bread for sandwiches or toast - or breadcrumbs - and pasta and a dozen jars of sauce downstairs.

We're set, Mother Nature! Bring it on!


Guinness, Whiskey, and Bailey's Cupcakes

I went into work this morning just as the snow was beginning to fall. 30 minutes after punching in, I was punching out - no need to hang around on a snow-day.

8:30 in the morning found me in the kitchen with a recipe for cupcakes that a coworker had mentioned - made with Guinness, Irish Whiskey, and Bailey's Irish Cream.

8:30 ayem - definitely time to break out the booze and start baking, right?!? Especially this booze - Readbreast is some seriously good Irish Whiskey. Seriously good. I've always liked my Jameson, but this really takes it up a couple of notches.

I got out all the necessary ingredients and realized I didn't have a bottle of Guinness! I did have a bottle of Sierra Nevada stout, however, so that had to suffice. I wasn't going to head out into the Blizzard of '17 for a bottle of beer when I had something at home that would work.

The recipe comes from the Browneyed Baker. It's her most-requested recipe, so I'm not going to reprint it, here. Head over there and grab the recipe. Suffice to say, it is worth making.

First thing is making the batter. Guinness, cocoa powder, and butter are all melted and mixed together. It's a thinner batter than many cake recipes you may be used to. I dripped it everywhere and made a mess filling the cupcake holders. Messes R Us.

After the cupcakes cool, you make a ganache with more chocolate and Irish Whiskey. I used the Readbreast, today, just because I wanted to show it off. I have Jameson's in the cabinet, as well - and next time I make them I'll use it.

Then it's cut a little hole in the cupcake and fill with the ganache.

 

And then top with the Bailey's Irish Cream frosting.

The recipe makes 2 dozen cupcakes - more or less. I got 21, today, but may have been a bit too generous with the first few... I did use a scoop, but I think the first ones were a bit fuller. No harm.

And what do those yummy cupcakes look like inside?!?

The cupcake is chocolatey, moist, and just a tad boozey. You taste the stout but it's not overpowering. It's nice. Different. The whiskey ganache is pure decadence. As in pure decadence. It is really rich and a little goes a long way. And the icing really is the icing on the cake. The Bailey's really comes through in it - all the frosting is is butter, powdered sugar, and the liqueur, so there's nothing to mask it.

I really do suggest you stop what you're doing and head right over to Browneyed Baker and make a batch, today!

 


Chicken and Chorizo

We don't often eat spicy foods, anymore. Nonna doesn't care for the heat and I'm usually not in the mood to cook two dinners. But every now and again the spice-urge gets to me and it's damn the torpedos, full speed ahead.

Like tonight.

We had some fresh Mexican chorizo in the freezer I had picked up down at Reading Terminal Market that had been calling to me for a couple of weeks. I had thought of a dozen and one ideas to use it, but they all meant cooking something else for Nonna. Tonight, I hit upon an idea that let me cook everything in one pan and parse out the spice when dishing things up.

And it worked!

The basic recipe came from Bon Appetit about 5 years ago - fairly current in my stack of recipes I haven't yet made. I think if I started cooking right now, I wouldn't get through the recipes I've clipped or collected before my 90th birthday. So many ideas, so little time.

I took the basic idea and played with it - and Nonna cleaned her plate, completely. Afterwards, she said, "the sweet potatoes were a bit hot, weren't they?" But she ate every bite. Go figure.

You could make this with cured Spanish chorizo, if you wanted - it would just be a bit different, texturally.

Chicken and Chorizo with Sweet Potatoes

  • 3 chicken breasts
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 3 links fresh Mexican chorizo, casings removed, crumbled
  • 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/2" thick
  • 1 red onion, large chop
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp rosemary
  • S&P, as desired
  • Quesso Fresco
  • Green Onions

Marinate the chicken in the apple cider vinegar and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In an oven-proof skillet, slightly brown the crumbled chorizo. Push chorizo to the side of the pan and add the chicken breasts. Lightly cook on one side maybe 3 minutes - just enough to brown a bit.

Meanwhile, peel and slice the sweet potatoes, mixing them with the garlic, white wine, rosemary, onions, and a bit of S&P.

Remove the chicken breasts from the pan and add the potato and onion mixture - wine and all - to the skillet. Mix things up and nestle the potatoes down into the pan. Place the chicken breasts on top and place, uncovered, into the oven.

Bake about 25 minutes or until potatoes and chicken are cooked through.

Place chorizo and potato mixture on plate and top with the sliced chicken breast. Finish it off with crumbled quesso fresco and chopped green onions.

The quesso fresco balances the heat of the chorizo really well and the green onions add a bit of freshness.

It really hit the spot with a lot of oohs and ahhs throughout the meal. I see more spiciness being snuck into dinner...

 


Tater Tot Casserole

Ya know... it's not all foie gras and Dom Perignon around our house. Once and awhile we channel our inner trailerpark and see what we can throw together. Tonight was one of those nights...

Even gastronomical geniuses become brain-dead after time, and have to fall back on dishes one imagines one had in their youth - although I rather doubt my mom stooped this low. With six kids to feed, she was Queen of Casseroles, but she had standards.

I've been trying to clean out the freezer since I tend to pack it out from time to time. I can't even imagine the damage I would do if we had another 'fridge or freezer downstairs. Finite freezer space forces me to use things - like the container of turkey stew that went in there awhile back. Waste not, want not, ya know?!?

I didn't have quite enough for a full dinner, so I cooked off some ground chicken and added a carton of cream of chicken soup. Yes. Cream of Chicken soup. It was organic. Low as they are, I have my standards, too.

The filling went into the casserole dish and tater tots went on top. Into a 350° oven for 45 minutes.

It was good. No. It was fantastic! Totally.

I highly recommend it.